Will £2.8m Eboue Kouassi start for Celtic on Thursday?

A year on from joining Celtic and fans of the Parkhead club still aren't sure about Eboue Kouassi.

The Ivorian midfielder joined the Hoops in a £3 million deal last January but a bout of malaria, coupled with the form of others, has meant that the 20-year-old has had little chance to showcase his talent.

But Kouassi has been playing more and more in recent weeks and Thursday's visit of Zenit St Petersburg could be the perfect stage to show what all the fuss is about.

With Stuart Armstrong still injured and Tom Rogic unfit, manager Brendan Rodgers might well give Kouassi his first start in European competition for the Hoops.

He had a 22-minute cameo in the 7-1 mauling at Paris Saint-Germain back in November and offered very little that night it has to be said, but nobody in green did.

The Northern Irish manager reassured fans over Kouassi's talent in January when he claimed that he has the ability to be Scott Brown's long-term successor at Parkhead, and a solid showing against the Russians would certainly add weight to Rodgers's bold claims.

He isn't guaranteed to start, but he started alongside Brown and Olivier Ntcham in midfield against Kilmarnock 10 days ago and if Kouassi is given a chance, he must make sure that he takes it with both hands.

Shane Callaghan

Shane is a Dublin-based sports writer who swapped the football pitch for the press box upon learning that he was better with a pen than with a round bit of leather. Prior to joining HITC, Shane enjoyed spells with Sports Mole and Goal.com among others, while he was also club reporter for Irish football club Drogheda United.